Top 10 Indian Agro-news in February 2021

Below are the most-viewed news regarding Indian companies, products, regulation and research that were published on AgroPages in February 2021.

Massive fire breaks out at UPL plant in Gujarat’s Bharuch, 26 injured and 2 fatalities confirmed 

A major blast shook Gujarat’s Bharuch district in the early hours of Feb.23rd, 2021. The explosion resulted in a massive fire at United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) company’s plant at Jhagadia unit. 

According to sources, while the closure notice applies immediately, the actual shutdown process may happen gradually in a bid to avoid any other incident occurring due to sudden shutdown of a chemical unit. The explosion may influence the production of Glufosinate and Clethodim ... ...

Drone technology in Indian agriculture : A viable solution to address food security issue

The drone survey helps boost crop yields and minimize time and expenses. The Indian government has already acknowledged the importance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), machine learning, and artificial intelligence with their 'Digital Sky Platform' online.

Some of the best practices of Drone Technology are: 1) Aerial Imaging; 2) Irrigation Monitoring; 3) Monitoring and Surveillance of Crop Health; 4) Crop Damage Assessment; 5) Analysis of Field Soil; 6) Spraying & Planting; 7) Livestock tracking ... ...

India CIBRC 425th meeting: NATCO receives approval for Chlorantraniliprole (CTPR)-1st key product of Crop Health Sciences Division

At the meeting, 30 registration of pesticide technical and 58 formulation products, including 12 herbicides, 18 insecticides/acaricides, 7 fungicides and 51 bio-products got approved. 

- MNCs crazy for registrations in India

- Cartap hydrochloride 98% TC sourcing from Hunan Haohua Chemical

- Bio-products still more than 1/2

- NATCO receives approval for Chlorantraniliprole (CTPR)-1st key product of Crop Health Sciences Division

More details, please check the original text ... ...

Regulatory approval updates “Make in India”

Under the GOI initiative for promoting ‘Make in India’, the pesticide sector is on its move yet again. Recently the regulatory authority for registering pesticides, the Registration Committee granted approvals for much needed pesticides for crop protection in the country. The very aim to manufacture the technical grade pesticides under section 9(3) of the Insecticides Act 1968 and Insecticides Rules 1971 is commendable. 

Many indigenous manufacture approvals are likely to benefit the SME & MSME sector involved in formulating these technical for domestic and export consumption. Further, some companies have been granted for indigenous manufacturing of novel pesticide formulations, wherein their use is expected to cover a range of crops and their pests. 

With these regulatory approvals the availability of quality ad need based pesticides are expected to be beneficial to the Indian farmers ... ...  

India bets big on Superweed

After successful pilot projects, India has decided to go in for largescale cultivation of 60 varieties of seaweeds or macroalgae, which have multiple commercial applications in medicine, fertilizer, animal feed and food, being a rich source of amino acid and several micronutrients.

India’s plans are to raise seaweed production from the current level of about 20,000 tonnes, valued at around $500 million (Rs 50 crore) to 11.2 lakh tonnes by 2025. Besides meeting industry needs and reducing import dependency, the new project, which has been launched in several coastal states, holds the potential to provide employment to 6-7 lakh people, particularly women, delegates at an international webinar on Entrepreneurship Development on “Seaweed Business by Cooperatives” held on Thursday (January 28) were informed ... ...

Budget: Indian agriculture companies cheer higher allocation to farm sector

"2020 has been a year of exceptional and unprecedented challenges and has highlighted the critical importance of two core sectors, agriculture and healthcare. The Union Budget 2021 has correctly called out the role of these two sectors in leading the nation's recovery and being catalysts to sustainable growth," said D Narain, Senior Bayer Representative, South Asia and CEO & MD, Bayer CropScience.

Ram Kaundinya, Director General, Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII), said it is a status quo budget for agriculture in general and for seed industry in particular.

Asitava Sen, CEO of CropLife India, the apex body of agrochemical industries, said: "The government's continued focus and commitment on doubling farmers' income by 2022 is very evident in the 2021 Union Budget. Further, the Government should provide 200% weighted deduction on R&D expenses by agrochemical companies to encourage innovation and introduction of new technologies," Sen said ... ...

AI has potential to help Indian agriculture sector: K T Rama Rao

Opening up our mindset about who we should include in the design of technology has great potential for increased efficiency and cost-savings. From government to the private sector and social entrepreneurs, it requires multiple stakeholders to make this change.

The panelists discussed what role will emerging technologies play when the Indian economy is expected to regain ground as the world's fastest-growing economy in 2021, when the IMF expects a growth rate of 8.8 per cent after a contraction of 10.3 per cent in 2020 ... ...

Agricultural exports are rising in India: Economic Survey

India's marine, cotton farming, sugar and spice exports of agricultural products have seen a growing pattern in 2019-2020, the Economic Survey said. It reported that, since economic reforms started in 1991, India has been a net exporter of agri-based goods. In the financial year 2019-20, agri-exports hit Rs 2.52 lakh crores and imports at Rs 1.47 lakh crores,' the survey said.

India has a leading role in the worldwide trade in farm goods. Its overall agricultural export destinations, however, were the USA, Iran, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh ... ...

Budget 2021-22: Reactions from Agri Experts & Industrialists in India

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented the Budget 2021 in Parliament. This ninth budget under the Modi government has special significance it was presented amid the prolonged farmer's protest and corona virus pandemic.

The demand recovery is steadily gaining momentum and will further improve the investment cycle. The economic reforms announced today provide a significant impetus to the Agriculture sector. Government is committed to the welfare of farmers which is evident from the enhanced agri credit target to Rs 16.5 lakh crore. Additional allocations for rural infrastructure & irrigation, development of fishing harbours, micro irrigation corpus doubled to Rs 10,000 cr will surely boost the sector ... ...

How agricultural nanotechnology will Influence the future of Indian farming sustainability

The agricultural sector is dealing with enormous challenges such as rapid climatic changes, a decrease in soil fertility, macro and micronutrient deficiency, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and heavy metal presence in the soil. However, the global population increase has subsequently escalated food demand. Nanotechnology has immensely contributed to sustainable agriculture by enhancing crop production and restoring and improving soil quality.

This article focuses on the recent applications of nanotechnology for sustainable farming and how it influences the future of agricultural developments ... ...